Process for making stockings



Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

S T l .JOHN VHAIJIEIIL'ELD, J R., 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS FOR 'MAKING STOCKINGS.

Application led March 5, 1920. Serial No. 363,450.

To all whom t may cof/wem:

Be it known that I, JOHN HADFIELD, Jr.,

a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Processes for Making Stockings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in stockings and processes for making tiel same, and the object of my invention is to provide a new process for forming stockings of the type known as full fashioned, whereby a great saving is achieved both in time and in the cost of manufacture, andan article of superior quality obtained.

' With reference to the drawings Figure 1, illustrates a stocking made in ace cordance with my invention;

Fig. 2, shows the upper portion of the stocking, the forming of which constitutes the first step in my process, and

Fig. 3, is a view of the upper portion of the stocking shown in Fig'. 2, after it has been divided at the rear and is ready for transference to the full fashioned knitting machine..

The present method of forming stockings of the type known as full fashioned is to knit the entire leg'poition upon what is commonly known as a full fashioned stocking knitting machine. This is a comparatively lengthy process, due to the fact that in forming the welt, the upper portion of the stocking) must be turned/'over by hand.

uring the time/that the welt is being formed, it is necessary that the machine upon which the stocking is being formed remain idle, and since the knitting-land' turning of the upper portion of the stocking consumes substantially three-fourths of the time reuired to form the entire leg, it is apparent t at the actual loss is considerable. All this will be fully understood and appreciated by those acquainted with the art.

I have discovered that by forming the upper portion of the leg of my stocking upon a circular stocking knitting machine of the type employed in the manufacture of Vso-called seamless hosiery, and transferring 50 this upper portion of the stocking from the seamless machine to the full fashioned machine for completion of the lower portion of the leg, I am able to obtain a considerable saving both in time and actual cost of manw f the tubular blank has been"opened, as

facture, and at the same time put out an article which is superior to the stocking formed entirely upon the full fashioned machine.

In carrying out my process, it is necessarv, first, that the circular machine employed in knitting the top of the stocking shall have the 'same number of needles as the full fashioned machine employed for knitting the lower portion of the leg, and that the two machines shall knit fabrics which are identical. This can be easily arranged for. In following out the process', therefore, I f'irst form upon the said circular, knitting machine a tubular blank 1, such as shown in Fig. 2. This knitting machine, in forming the upper portion of the stocking, automatically forms the welt 2, and after the blank is received from the machine, it is only necessaryto divide the same at one side before it may be transferred to the full fashioned machine for the knitting of the shaped lower portion 3 of the leg.

In order to provide a guide for the operator who cuts the tubulary blanks, a stitch may be dropped at one side, y or longitudinal wale or other guide line formed, as indicated inthe drawings by the numeral Ll. After shown in Fig. 3, it is ready to be transferred to the full 'fashioned knitting machine upon which the lower portion 3 of theleg is formed, and aloose course or transfer line 5 formed in the blank constitutes a guide whereby the transfer may be swiftly and accurately made.

The upper portion of the stocking which is formed upon the said circular machine is substantially similar to the corresponding upper portion of a stocking knitted upon the full fashionedA machine, since all the shaping of the leg done upon a full fashioned machine is upon the lower portion of the leg. The stocking therefore obtained by m process is, in the essential features, exact y 'similar to the stocking knitted wholly upon -the full fashioned machine. There are, however, certain particulars in which a stock'ng made in accordance with my invention is superior to the ordinary full fashioned stocking. One of the, main difliculties experienced. inthe manufacture of seamless hosiery is the fact that in order to obtain proper relative proportions in the lower portion of the leg which lies around the ankle and in the extreme upper portion of the leg, it is necessary to limit the' circumference of the upper portion of the le mii-.ide larger than is ordinarily the custom, the ankle must be correspondingly enlarged, and a stocking which bags around the ankle results. Even in full fashioned stockings of the usual type, there is as arule insufficient provision made at this point, a-nd the stockings are frequently found to bind the wearer at' the top. It is, in fact, eX- tremely hard to find a stocking which will meet all requirements, and a happy mean is in most cases the best that can be reized.. lt is a fact, however, that a-lthouoh the circula-r knitting machine employed or forming the upper part of my stocking has the same number of needles as the full fashioned machine which forms the lower portion thereof, and though the fabrics formed upon the two machines are apparently identical, yet theF upper portion of the leg of a stockingV made in accordance with myl invention has greater elasticity and can wit out strain encompass a greater area than a stocking knit in its entirety upon the full fashioned machine employed to form the lower portion of the leg of my stocking. As a consequence, l obtain a stockmg which is capable of wider application and more general use than the stockingi formed complete upon machine.

lf still .further flexibility is required, moreover, it is possible upon the circular knitting machine to form the inside of the welt of a fabric less closely knit than that of the rest of thel stockin and this will afford even greater flexibi ity to the welt while not detractingfrom the appearance of the stocking. Furthermore, in transferring the upper portion l' of the stocking to the full fashioned machine, it is unnecessary to slit the blank completely open, it heilig 'sufficient to slit the blank from the Vbottom up as far as the welt only, the welt being left intact. In this event, there will be found 1n my stocking an actually greater number of stitches than in a full fashioned stocking, the leg of which is formed complete upon the full fashioned machine employed to knit the lower portion of the leg of my stocking, since in stitching up the back of the open blank, a number of stitches is'o-f necessity sacrificed. Actually greater width may thus be obtained at the top of the stocking.

l am able, furthermore, in myv stocking to take advantage of the so-called lock stitch or antl-run-back, which is a stitch formable only upon circular machinesfsuch as l employ in forming the upper portion of my stocking. rThis lock stitch is placed somewhere below the welt, as indicated in the If this upper portion of the leg is the full fashioned y labor thus described, lf am able to operate remesa drawings by the numeral 6, the purpose being to prevent any runs which may start from injuries caused by a garter from advancin further down the leg than the pos1- tion ofg the said lock stitch. This is a decided advantage,`particularly in silk hose, and the full fashioned stocking made in lthe .usual manner is unable to include this feature. l am able, however, to form the said lock stitch in the upper portion of the stocking which is formed upon the circular machine, and as a consequence, it is incorporated in my completed full fashioned stocking.

Many other possible advantageous fea` tures will present themselves vto those acquaintedl -with the art.

As indicative of the great saving of time resulting from my process., ll am able to frm the' leg of my stocking complete 1n approximately one-third of the time that it takes to form the leg of a stocking upon a full fashioned machine, this saving constituting the diference in the time that it takes to form the upper portion of the stocking upon the respective machines'. ll am` also able to avoid in the formation of my stocking considerable close and arduous. work upon the part of the operator, and the machine-formed -welt is generally of supe-A rior quality tothe welt formed manually upon thefull .fashioned machine.

Aside from the actual saving in time and my machines practically continuously, without the necessity forkeeping them id le for protracted periods, and the production l1s thereby greatly increased, this actual increase of production being approximately- 200%. ln fact, l obtain this greatly increased production at an actual cost of manufacture which is less per article than in the ordinary process of manufacture.

Since the seamless knitting machines are comparatively cheap and easy to obtain, my process will particularly recommend itself to manufacturers desiring to increase their production while being unable or unwilling to go to the expense of purchasing more of the full fashioned machinery.

il claim: v

1. The method of producing fashioned hosiery, which comprises forming the upper portion of the leg as a tubular web having a longitudinal slit, laying out the lower section of the said web in a substantially straight line, and continuing the leg as a flat web from said lower section.

2. 'llhe method of` forming fashioned hosiery, which ,comprises knitting the upper portion of the leg as a continuous tubular web, cutting Vthe web to permit the laying out of the lower section thereof in a substantially straight line, and continuing the leg as a Hat web from the said lower section.

3. The method of forming fashioned hosiery, which comprises knitting the upper portion of the leg including the welt as av continuous tubular web, cutting the web to permit the laying out of the'lower section thereof in a substantially straight line, and continuing the leg as a flat web from the said lower section.

4. .The method of forming fashioned hosiery, which comprises knitting the upper portion of the leg including the weltV as a continuous tubular web', cutting the web to permit laying out 'of thelower section thereof in a Substantially straight line',

1.5 continuing the leg 4from thel said lqwer sec# hos'liery which consists in knitting the upper portion ofthe leg including the' welt as a continuous tubular web, cutting the wel)V to'permit laying out kthe lower section Vin a substantially straight line, continuing the knitting of the remainder of the stocking fromthe said lower section as a flat web, and stitching theedges of the said latter web and the divided portion of the tubular web to complete the stocking.

Joint Drinnn, JR. 

